


Following Orders

by Kayim



Category: Hawaii Five-0 (2010)
Genre: Hawaii Five-0 Bingo, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-11-14
Updated: 2011-11-14
Packaged: 2017-10-26 02:18:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,034
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/277535
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kayim/pseuds/Kayim
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There were times that Steve loved being the boss. When he relegated Danny to the passenger seat of his own car, or sent Kono and Chin to deal with Max, he thought that accepting the position from Governor Jameson was the best thing he could have done.</p><p>But sometimes, just occasionally, he wished that someone else had to give the orders that he really didn't want to.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Following Orders

**Author's Note:**

> This was written for my H50 bingo card for the prompt of "Command Decisions".
> 
> Thanks to Siluria and Artisan for their help.

There were times that Steve loved being the boss. When he relegated Danny to the passenger seat of his own car, or sent Kono and Chin to deal with Max, he thought that accepting the position from Governor Jameson was the best thing he could have done.

But sometimes, just occasionally, he wished that someone else had to give the orders that he really didn't want to.

*

"I'm only going to be undercover for a couple of days. It's hardly a long-term thing."

Danny had already changed into a pair of blue jeans and a black t-shirt that may, or may not, have shrunk in the wash. It stretched across his chest as though it were painted on, outlining the curve of muscles that tensed every time he moved. He perched on the edge of Steve's desk, tracing his fingers over the letters on the brass nameplate. "I get in there, figure out where they're picking up the shipment from, and I get out. What could go wrong?"

Steve's mind ran through the myriad of possible answers to that particular question, not liking any of the scenarios that he came up with. He tried desperately to think of another way of getting to these dealers, but he couldn't come up with anything else. Danny was the only one who wasn't likely to be recognized and the only one who could play on the New Jersey connections.

"Stop it." Danny had either been able to read his mind, or Steve's expression had given him away. Danny stood up from the desk and walked over to him, putting his hand on Steve's chest. "It's going to be fine, babe. Stop worrying."

Steve wanted to explain that it was nothing specific, that he worried about all of them every time they had a case, but the words wouldn't come out. Probably something to do with an ingrained inability to lie to his team.

"I'm serious, Steven. You need to just let me do this." Danny's eyes were as dark as the expression on his face, and Steve felt a jolt of electricity through his body as Danny spoke. He wondered if his chest would bear the seared-on image of Danny's hand, and found that he hoped it would.

Danny leaned forward until his forehead was touching Steve's, his hand sliding up from Steve's chest to the back of his neck. The grip was firm, an unspoken promise. "I'll be okay."

Steve closed his eyes, feeling Danny's pulse through his fingertips, the warmth of Danny's breath on his face. He focused on the feeling, committing it to memory, using it to block out the dark thunderclouds that were filling his mind.

They stood like that until a quiet cough interrupted them. Chin stood in the doorway, his hands jammed in his pockets, his gaze lowered. "It's time, boss."

Reluctantly, Steve drew away from Danny, painfully aware that there were still too many things left unsaid between them. "We'll be right out," he told Chin, unable to take his eyes off Danny.

Vaguely aware of the door closing as Chin left, Steve took a deep breath and tried to switch his mindset back to Commander McGarrett. He wasn't wholly successful.

"Stay safe. And come back." Two more orders that he wished he didn't have to give.

*

In the end, Danny managed exactly half of Steve's final orders. He'd come back, albeit with the help of a team of HPD officers and a prescription for painkillers that would keep him bed-bound for the better part of a week.

Unwilling to let Danny out of his sight, Steve bundled his drug-addled partner back to his house, rather than allowing him to stay at the crappy apartment that Danny called home.

"Not necessary," Danny mumbled as they stumbled into the guest room. "Perfectly fine."

Steve huffed in dispute. "You are anything but fine, Danno. Your knee is so swollen that you can barely walk, and your concussion was so bad that half the doctors at the hospital want to write papers about it. It took every ounce of my not-so-inconsiderable powers of persuasion to get them to let you even leave. And then only because I said I would keep an eye on you."

"Huh. So you do care." Danny flopped, undignified, onto the bed, almost pulling Steve with him. He shuffled himself further up the mattress, groaning in pain as his knee straightened and locked with an audible click.

Brushing Danny's hair from his face and pulling a blanket over him, Steve smiled. "Yes, you idiot. I do care."

He watched as Danny's face lit up in a smile, moments before his eyes closed and the drugs took a hold once more, sending him into what Steve hoped was a peaceful sleep.

The governor had insisted on the whole team taking the week off – unless, of course, there was some new catastrophe for them to deal with – and had recommend Danny for a commendation. When the assignment had started to go wrong, and his cover had been blown, Danny had managed to keep things together for long enough that HPD could get there.

Steve had been tailing one of the other dealers and was less than three miles away, but it was already over by the time he got back there. Three of the dealers were dead, two were under arrest, and Danny had been found bleeding on the floor from a head wound that terrified Steve. The knowledge that he hadn't been there to prevent it was the only thing that hurt more.

It turned out that most of the blood Danny had been laying in belonged to the dealer he'd managed to take out with nothing more than a broken wooden chair. But the concussion had the doctors, insisting on keeping Danny under observation for 48 hours. Those two days had left Steve plenty of time to think the worst; to imagine what his life would be like without Danny. And the only thing he knew for sure was that he wasn't prepared to find out.

"Thank you for following orders," Steve whispered, leaning down to plant a soft kiss on Danny's forehead.

"And for coming back to me."


End file.
